No one can quite agree on how many hills there are in San Francisco although the city is defined by their roller coaster heights. According to the US Geological Survey, there are 42 “named” hills in the city. The Romantics, however, refer to the Seven Hills of San Francisco, perhaps a comparison to Rome. It is on the top of one of these, Telegraph Hill, where we come to visit Coit Tower, perhaps one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, especially on a crystal-clear, sunny day. Standing 210 feet high, the white concrete tower, surrounded by a park, provides spectacular 360-degree views of the City by the Bay, from the Golden Gate to the Bay Bridge. If the Tower exists at all, it is thanks to a bequest from Lillian Hitchcock Coit to be used to “beautify her city.” But who is Lillie Coit?

There is no question that the wealthy socialite was a character and possibly one of the most fascinating and eccentric inhabitants of the City in her time. She smoked cigars … she wore trousers before it was socially acceptable for women to do so . . . she dressed up as a man to get into the male-only gambling halls… she chased fires. Lillie loved fires! According to the stories, at age 15 she witnessed a fire on Telegraph Hill when there were not enough firefighters to pull the truck up the hill with ropes. She dropped her school books and grabbed a rope, calling out to passersby to join in. Thereafter, she could frequently be seen riding on the Knickerbocker Engine Company #5 fire truck, becoming the Company’s mascot. She even added “#5” after her signature and had it embroidered on her clothing. Some even say that Coit Tower actually resembles the nozzle of a fire hose.

A visit to Coit Tower is a must if you are in San Francisco, and the best way to fully appreciate Telegraph Hill is to walk up some of the famous hidden Stairways of the City. There are at least a couple of ways to get there — the 378 steps of the Greenwich Street Stairs (starting near Embarcadero) or the 377 Filbert Steps from North Beach. Or you can walk up Lombard Street to Telegraph Hill Boulevard. Along the way, you will discover houses built by sea captains at a time when Telegraph Hill was home to a semaphore, landscaped gardens and perhaps, wild Peruvian parrots flitting from branch to branch in Pioneer Park. If you have the time, be sure to detour onto the many tiny pathways that wend their way through the spectacular neighborhood. At the top, stop to take in the sweeping views of the Bay. You can take an elevator to the top of the tower for even more unobstructed views; however, the top is enclosed with glass which makes photography a bit difficult. On the other hand, a walk around the base of the tower to the south will provide a magnificent vista of the city, especially at night.

Inside the Rotunda of the Tower are fresco murals by 27 different artists, created as part of the Public Works of Art Project, the first 1930s New Deal federal works program for artists after the Great Depression. Contrary to what is written in some guidebooks, Diego Rivera did not paint a mural in Coit Tower although his social realism style probably was the inspiration for many of them. (His three works in San Francisco can be seen at City College, The San Francisco Art Institute and the old Pacific Stock Exchange building). It seems that many of the artists were so incensed when Rivera’s mural “Man at the Crossroads” was destroyed in Rockefeller Center in New York because it included the face of Lenin, that they went out of their way to include politics in their work.

Walk in a clockwise direction through the gallery to take in the murals, each depicting a distinct aspect of life in California during the Depression — steel, railroads, meatpacking, bankers, agriculture. One of the most famous murals is “Library” depicting a crowd of people around columns of books. When it was first unveiled in the 1930s, some people looked at it askance because it included books by so-called “left-wingers.” There is a second set of murals in the stairway of the tower which is not normally open to visitors. Winding up a spiral staircase is a mural showing San Francisco at Easter with cable cars climbing up the steep walls of the tower. If you would like to see them, then you can join a free tour that is given by the San Francisco City Guides.

Just outside Coit Tower in the center of the parking lot, gazing fixedly out over the Bay to the Golden Gate Bridge is a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus by the Veronese sculptor Vittorio di Colbertaldo. Dressed in a long flowing full-length cape, wearing a neck chain with a large cross, the Statue was a gift of the Italian community of North Beach to the City.

As you walk back down to North Beach, one of San Francisco’s most vibrant neighborhoods, stop in Washington Square Park, in front of the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul to admire the Firefighters Memorial, another gift from Lillie Coit. The work of Armenian-American sculptor, Haig Patigian, it depicts three firefighters, one of whom is carrying a young woman in his arms. Whether you decide to explore all of San Francisco’s many hills, a visit to Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill is a must if you visit the City by the Bay.

PHOTOGRAPHIC TIP
The best time to photograph Coit Tower and the Statue of Christopher Columbus is in the afternoon when the sun lights up the face of the statue. To photograph the City vistas, morning provides good light on areas to the North and West, including the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. The afternoon sun lights up the Oakland Bay Bridge and Treasure Island. Sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge is not to be missed.

IF YOU GO
Coit Tower is located at 1 Telegraph Hill Blvd in San Francisco (415-362-0808). It is open daily from 1000 to 1730 from March to September and from 0900 to 1600 from October to February. San Francisco City Guides offers free tours on Wednesday and Saturday at 11 am, including the “hidden” murals. The Firefighters Memorial is located on the Columbus Avenue side of Washington Square Park in North Beach.

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